A wearable iontronic sensor for nasal cannula-facial interface pressure distribution evaluation

Enhancing the comfort of high-flow nasal cannulas holds practical significance in clinical settings, as it can alleviate pain during treatment, improve patient compliance, and reduce the occurrence of facial pressure sores during extended wear. The pressure distribution at the nasal cannula-facial interface is a key factor affecting comfort. In this paper, we present a flexible iontronic sensor with ultra-high sensitivity (up to 0.6 nF/mmHg), low activation pressure (as low as 1 mmHg), and a fast response time (up to 30 ms) for measuring pressure at the nasal cannula-facial interface. The introduction of a poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) bonding layer enables the ionic layer to form a robust sensing interface with the electrode. A unified pressure distribution measurement scheme was established, and 10 subjects were recruited to wear four brands of commercially available nasal cannulas to evaluate the dynamic pressure distribution in different states. The proposed device provides a feasible solution for assessing nasal cannula comfort and provides a quantitative evaluation framework for optimizing nasal cannula designs, with direct implications for patient care.